It's a matter of court's dignity: Chief Justice

Taj Haider and Sharjeel Inam Memon of ruling Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Friday flew back to Karachi along with over 60 fellow parliamentarians, after buying time from Supreme Court till April 25 to submit their replies on the contempt notices.
Contempt case adjourned till April 25 Tah Haider, the general secretary of PPP Sindh chapter and Sharjeel Memon, MPA and party's provincial media co-ordinator, appeared before the apex court regarding contempt notices against them for ridiculing a court ruling and instigating people against it by giving a protest call in the province, which claimed seven innocent lives.
Over 60 members of PPP Sindh Assembly including Zulfiqar Mirza, Nisar Khuhro, Pir Mazharul Huque, Shazia Marri, Ayaz Soomro and others thronged the court room no 1, as show of solidarity with their colleagues, reportedly to march towards prison voluntarily hand-in-hand in case the two leaders were convicted.
A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry with Justice Sair Ali and Justice Ghulam Rabbani observed that it is a matter of court's dignity and nothing personal. "If elected representatives of people do not respect the courts, how things will move ahead...we all have to run the system in a transparent manner collectively", Justice Chaudhry maintained.
"Issuing contempt notice is not an easy task. You are public representatives and must ensure respect to judiciary...for the first time in history of Pakistan, judiciary is working independently and we must appreciate it", the CJP remarked while addressing Taj Haider.
"I have a great respect for you and I know your father very well", Justice Chaudhry once again disappointedly looked towards Taj Haider, repeatedly reminding him of terming the apex court verdict as 'shameful'. Haider said that he had received the notice and relevant documents few days back and required some more time to thoroughly scan it and file his reply while his fellow parliamentarian Sharjeel Memmon said that he was unable to study the notice as provincial assembly was in session.
The duo pleaded for at least two-month time to submit their replies, citing the reason that they were overburdened by the upcoming budget exercise, but the bench turned down their request and directed them to file their replies within three weeks.
The bench noted that due to the strike call six innocent people lost their lives whereas under Article 9 read with Article 4, it was the duty of the provincial government to protect lives of its citizens. Haider, who seemed a bit embarrassed, confessed before the apex court that it was indeed an unfortunate incident in which a senior PPP worker also lost his life.
Justice Chaudhry said that the court is not attributing the incident to any political party including the PPP. However, according to reports it was the public which suffered a lot due to the protest demonstration, he added.
The president Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA), Asma Jehangir, while assisting the court argued that four persons were killed during the protest strike in Sindh, according to interior ministry. "I condemned it (strike call) and as long as the violence is concerned, a thorough probe into it must be done besides compensating the victims' families", she maintained.
The bench directed the authorities concerned to immediately compensate the families of those who lost their lives besides assisting people whose properties were damaged by angry mobs during the demonstration. Asma further said that it is the court which has authority to decide the threshold while dealing with freedom of expression and contempt issue. She said that there was media hype about people invading the court but she did not find anything.
Renowned lawyers Abdul Hafeez Pirzda, who was also assisting the court in the case, apprised the bench that he had been directed by Syed Qaim Ali Shah, Chief Minister Sindh to remain neutral and assist the court in reaching the right conclusion.
Pirzada said that once the court declares its judgement, it becomes a public property and criticism should not be lingered to the extent of contempt. Endorsing his statement, the CJP said: "This man (Sharjeel) has a long way to go in his political career. You have all the liberties to express your feelings but keep this in mind that there must be some limits. We want that there should be no ridiculing of apex court", he told Sharjeel. The hearing was adjourned till April 25.